E. Van Lowe's Zombie Fest!!

I had the wonderful opportunity to take part in an amazingly fun event this past Saturday: E. Van Lowe's Zombie Fest!! I went as Margot, the main character of Never Slow Dance with a Zombie and I brought my zombie boyfriend DJ (as Dirk from the novel). We arrived early so DJ could be made up by Cat Elrod, a very talented Hollywood makeup artist. Here she is, getting attacked by her own creations!

The event started with a grand opening of zombies in a mini dance to introduce E. Van Lowe. First, he did a reading from Never Slow Dance with a Zombie, starting from the part where Margot is fighting with her best friend, Sybil, and they discover that all of their classmates have turned into zombies. Then, there was a Q&A, where we learned a lot about E's writing process, his music selections, and his inner girl.

He also unveiled his next project: I Want You Back, a paranormal YA novella. This funny and thrilling and FREE eBook will become available to subscribers of E's website through e-mail every time a new chapter is available. This book will also be illustrated by E's friend, Tatiana, who I got to meet at the party. Meet Emy, the 16 year old protagonist

of the story:

To begin with, I’m not a nice girl. Don’t get me wrong, I used to be a nice girl. I used to be kind, and helpful, considerate and thoughtful. The kind of girl who went to all of her boyfriend’s games, even though she hates basketball; the kind of girl who helped her boyfriend study for his English final while she should have been studying for her own calculus final—and maybe she would have done better than that C; the kind of girl the boys at school lovingly call, oh, what’s that cute little name they have for us again? Oh, yes—Doormat.

I Want You Back is the story of 16 year-old, Emy Grant, who uses magic to ensnare the boy of her dreams.

It sounds great and I can't wait to read it!

After that, E signed books and there was a reception with yummy food and great people. Here are some other pictures I took:

DJ/Dirk is enjoying the brain/watermelon.

Some other zombies join in on the fun!

Margot looks terrified and E looks thoughtful as the zombie horde closes in on them...

DJ and I had a blast at this awesome party. I would like to congratulate E on the success of Never Slow Dance with a Zombie!

Saw VI: A Rant

First of all, I watched the first three Saw movies in the theater. The first one was really scary and was ALMOST good. The ending really killed it for me. It was laughable and just seemed as it needed to be hastily ended because they ran out of money or something. I went to the next two films in hopes that they would be better. They were not. They were boring, predictable, and unimaginative. Some of the traps are interesting: the backwards bear trap in the first film was amazing and the needle pit from the thrid film made me squirm. But these were a couple of shining moments in a generally mediocre series. I made a conscious effort not to see the other Saw movies because I don't want to reward mediocrity and give them enough money to make another installment. Normally, I'll pretty much go see any movie, even if it looks awful, because it's a fun experience to enjoy or tear apart a movie with my friends and family.

Now, all I see everywhere is Saw. On every horror movie site, on (badly done) TV commercials, in the newspaper, in magazines...What other horror movie has this much advertising? None that I know of. It upsets me that it's not even good horror that is getting this much exposure. In a few years, it will be viewed just like every other overdone horror franchise: the first one was ok, but the other ones really sucked. Really good, original, edgy horror movies, such as Grace, Trick 'r Treat, Let the Right One In, Deadgirl, Otis, and countless others have to struggle just to get a LIMITED theatrical release, let alone any TV spots. The only exception to this has been Paranormal Activity, which went from a couple of free screenings to a wide release based on fan interest. (I haven't seen this film yet, but plan to this Sunday.)

What really set me off to write this rant was Scott Sigler's article, Move Over Michael...Jigsaw is Horror's New King of the Kill. The Saw movies are going to be the biggest horror movie franchise in America when the new movie comes out (not taking into account inflation, so I refuse to acknowledge it as such). I hate the "Halloween is now synonymous not with a movie from the Halloween franchise (which would seem a no-brainer), but with Saw..." Thank you, Lionsgate, for making me suffer on my favorite holiday with your incessant, badly executed advertising.

I just have to shake my head at the fact that big studios will pretty much only make sequels and remakes instead of taking a chance on any type of horror film. I will go on looking for overlooked gems and going to see them at little theaters or conventions.

The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks

Max Brook's newest installment of his zombie journalism series is a book of short stories in comic book form. This report is very enlightening, detailing the presence and outbreaks of the zombie virus throughout time. The narratives are arranged in chronological order, from 60,000 BC to AD 1992. The places of each incident are as diverse as the time periods, starting from Central Africa and ending in California. The important part of this text is how other cultures in different time periods reacted to and survived the zombie outbreak so we can learn from others' experiences when zombies attack our own cities.

I read this book in about a half an hour. This graphic novel is very fast read, but it packs a punch. It is indeed very graphic and not for the faint of heart. I don't think I've ever seen zombies drawn with such care and attention. Every sinew, bite, and bone is very detailed. The art is simply amazing. In my opinion, it might have been more powerful if it had been in color, but it's still enjoyable in black and white.

There is very light dialog and narrative, but the art shows you a lot of the story. A lot of narration isn't really necessary. It's a great way to utilize the form of a graphic novel. Each story has the same basic plot in that zombies attack and they must learn how to defeat them swiftly or face the same fate as their attackers. However, each had different characters and ways of dealing with them. I was impressed that so much can be told in a very short story. Each of the scenes were unique and evoked a different emotion. A couple made me laugh, but a some gave me a sick, sinking feeling in my stomach. (I love when I get that feeling from something I'm reading.) Most of those moments were because of the derangement and cruelty of man in events in history more than the zombies. My favorite story is the one about Ancient Egypt and the possible reason behind their traditional treatment of the dead.

I would recommend reading The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z first, because this is a more of a supplementary text (and those two books are awesome), but I think it can still be enjoyed all by itself. I would recommend this to zombie fans with a high tolerance for gore.

5/5

Edgar Allan Poe

How could I post about Halloween and horror without mentioning Edgar Allan Poe? His stories and poems were my first introduction into the horror genre. My dad would read his works to me before I went to bed at night when I was little. He would read to me with such furvor, using different voices. I think he's part of the reason I love to read so much. This is my favorite poem by Edgar Allan Poe. The ending always gives me chills no matter how many times I read it.

Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe

It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of ANNABEL LEE;--
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.
She was a child and I was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea,
But we loved with a love that was more than love--
I and my Annabel Lee--
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud by night
Chilling my Annabel Lee;
So that her high-born kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in Heaven,
Went envying her and me:--
Yes! that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of a cloud, chilling
And killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we--
Of many far wiser than we-
And neither the angels in Heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee:--

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I see the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride,
In her sepulchre there by the sea--
In her tomb by the side of the sea.

*The beautiful painting above is from dustfae on Deviantart.com.*

Edgar Allan Poe Part 2

Edgar Allan Poe also inspired other artists to create works of art.

Voltaire wrote a song about visiting Edgar Allan Poe's grave (which I totally want to do even if it is weird!!!), called Graveyard Picnic. It's full of references to Annabel, the Conqueror Worm, and so many other of Poe's works.

Many artists have captured the poem Annabel Lee in paintings and photomanipulations.

* The beautiful acrylic painting of Annabel Lee came from dustfae.

* The above photomanipulation was created by RavenxCorpse.

* Another awesome photomanipulation was created by miss-ninja.

* You can see other works at the gallery at PoeStories.com.

*All of these artists have accounts on DeviantArt.com. If you like these works, please check out the rest of their galleries.*

There was even a Living Dead Doll made of Edgar Allan Poe and Annabel Lee (of which I am a proud owner). The Poe doll just looks so cute and sad. Aww.

There have been countless parodies and reimaginings of Poe's work for television. My favorite has to be the Raven from The Simpson's from the first Treehouse of Horror. Unfortunately, I could only find the audio of the clip. I actually first saw this in an English class in middle school.

Zombie Queen of Newbury High

Mia Everett could not believe her luck! The cutest boy in school, Rob, went on SIX dates with her and asked her to the prom! All of her dreams come tumbling down when pretty, popular, cheerleader Samantha Griffin sets her sights on him to get the prom queen tiara. She always gets what she wants. So, Mia is completely desperate and enlists the aid of her faithful (and hypochondriac) friend, Candice. Together, they procure a love spell and perform it at a school assembly. Mia is convinced that it worked because everyone is suddenly nice to her and bringing her lots of tasty treats. Later, she finds out from Chase Miller, undercover agent of the Department of Paranormal Containment, that it did, but not in a way that was expected. She inadvertently turned the senior class in to zombies AND they want to fatten her up and eat her! Can she reverse the spell before it's too late or will Chase have to kill the entire senior class? Will she still have a date to the prom?

This book was really light and fun. I've owned it for a while and when I finally got to it, I read it easily in a day. The language was very fluid and the story flowed very well. The characters all had defined and unique personalities. I think with this type of novel, it's easy to fall back on flat stereotypes, but Amanda Ashby seizes this opportunity to create likable and memorable characters. Mia is my favorite character. Despite her irrational, shallow behavior, I really like her. I relate to her because I too have an obsession with everything Joss Whedon and I wasn't very popular in high school. I had a lot of fun reading her story with all the references to pop culture and her sense of humor. Candice is also a great character, with her hypochondriac tendencies and high intelligence. Her quirkiness is so endearing. I really liked seeing great, detailed characters that still have flaws, but remain likable.

This novel, much like E. Van Lowe's Never Slow Dance with a Zombie, is not just about zombies (although zombies are still awesome). It's really about standing up for your own convictions and being an individual. Mia had to admit to herself that she liked a boy that may not have been as popular as Rob, but has more in common with her, knows her, and loves her for who she is. When trying to solve the problem she created, Mia shows great maturity and even forgets about the petty conflict between her and Samantha until Samantha keeps persisting. Mia shows growth through the novel and learns some valuable lessons.

Zombie Queen of Newbury High by Amanda Ashby was very fun and entertaining to read. There wasn't any zombie carnage, but there was humor, fun, and heart. I would recommend this to anyone, but especially those who aren't into gory horror.

4/5

Classical Music for Halloween Part 2

My second classical piece to focus on is: Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saens!

The Dance of Death (or Danse Macabre in French) is a sort of celebration that originated in late Medieval era. It was an allegory in which they recognized the unity of all mankind through death. No matter what a person's station, social status, or wealth, everyone ends up in the same place. According to Wikipedia,"La Danse Macabre consists of the personified death leading a row of dancing figures from all walks of life to the grave, typically an emperor, king, youngster, and beautiful girl- all skeletal. They were produced to remind people of how fragile their lives and how vain the glories of earthly life were. Its origins are postulated from illustrated sermon texts; the earliest artistic examples are in a cemetery in Paris from 1424."

My favorite setting of this concept is that of Saint-Saens' tone poem for orchestra. The harp opens the piece playing 12 subsequent D's to signify a clock striking midnight. The opening violin solo acts as Death, calling forth the dead to dance for the night, until he lays them to rest until next year. The E string of the violin is actually tuned down to E flat to play the tritone chord, which was also known as the Devil's chord. The xylophone is used to call to mind the rattling of bones. The piece is just really fun! I could totally imagine this piece in The Graveyard Book during the Danse Macabre celebration in chapter 5, where the dead dance with the living. Please listen to the piece below and enjoy!

Who Killed Amanda Palmer?

Amanda Palmer is an incredibly talented singer, songwriter, and pianist. She is half of the punk cabaret duo, The Dresden Dolls, and has recently branched out with her own solo album, Who Killed Amanda Palmer. I have seen her in concert five times (both solo and with The Dresden Dolls) and she's simply amazing. She plays with such reckless abandon and passion and it charges her music. It is so unique compared to anything else I've ever heard. This beautiful and macabre book is the companion to her solo album. If you have no idea who she is and want to hear some of her music, here is her MySpace page and The Dresden Dolls' MySpace page.

I finally received this book after ordering it almost a year ago. Needless to say, I was so excited about getting the package that I might have scared the UPS man a tiny bit. The wait was worth it.

This is a beautiful coffee table-type book full of photographs of the dearly departed Amanda Palmer in various places and states of undress taken by a large variety of photographers. They are accompanied by wonderful short stories by Neil Gaiman and lyrics from Amanda Palmer's solo album. The photos are incredibly dynamic, each it's own little morbid and macabre vignette. Some of them are sad, funny, ironic, odd, beautiful, and gruesome, but all of them are unique. My favorite is of Amanda brandishing a sword triumphantly over her slaughtered, younger self.

Neil Gaiman's short stories are nothing short of genius. They go perfectly with the corresponding pictures. He utilizes different voices expertly to tell the story of a young girl with an abusive mother, a suicidal housewife, and others. The stories triggered strong responses in me. Some made me laugh out loud, but others disturbed and sickened me. It's amazing how such emotion and plot can be encompassed in so few words. The longest story is two pages, but each is like a window deep into each of Amanda Palmer's many deaths.

This awesome book is a great collaboration between two talented artists. It's a must-have for any Amanda F-ing Palmer or Neil Gaiman fan.

5/5

Ravenous: An Underrated Classic

Here's the plot summary from IMDB.com:

Captain John Boyd receives a promotion after defeating the enemy command in a battle of the Mexican-American War, but because the general realizes it was an act of cowardice that got him there, he is given a backhanded promotion to Fort Spencer, where he is third in command. The others at the fort are two Indians, George and his sister, Martha, who came with the place, Chaplain Toffler, Reich, the soldier; Cleaves, a drugged-up cook; and Knox, who is frequently drunk. When a Scottish stranger named Colqhoun appears and recovers from frostbite almost instantly after being bathed, he tells a story about his party leader, Ives, eating members of the party to survive. As part of their duty, they must go up to the cave where this occurred to see if any have survived. Only Martha, Knox, and Cleaves stay behind. George warns that since Colqhoun admits to eating human flesh, he must be a Wendigo, a ravenous cannibalistic creature.

This film is one of my all-time favorites. Everything about this quirky little movie is perfect. The acting by everyone, especially Guy Pearce as our tortured hero and Robert Carlyle as our delightful cannibal, is superb. The group of ragtag misfits is completely believable and awkwardly endearing. The script is darkly comic, but holds up as a horror movie with suspense and a dash of gore. The soundtrack is innovative and unconventional. It's minimalistic with repeated musical ideas that build on one another. It creates tension in suspenseful moments very effectively. In a climactic chase scene, the music may seem inappropriate, but not if the focus is on the gleeful predator instead of the fearful prey.

When the film came out in 1999, it didn't do very well because of horrible marketing. I remember the first time I watched it with my sister, I was 14 and I felt slightly sick and uncomfortable. After a few more viewings, the movie became one of my favorites because of the mixture of humor and horror and the fact that after multiple viewings, I still find things I didn't notice before. This film was a big influence in my continued love of the horror genre and possibly the precursor for my love of zombies. This is definitely one of the best cannibal movies you will ever see.

Classical Music for Halloween!!!!

I'm a music major at Cal State Long Beach and I want to share my love of classical Halloween music! My absolute favorite orchestral piece of all time is Hector Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique. It's an awesome piece with 5 movements that tells an amazing story using absolutely no words.

This is the basic story: Boy meets girl. He falls in love with her in the first movement (Passions). He sees her at a party and is pretty much obsessed in the second movement (A Ball). In the third movement (Scene in the fields), he reflects upon his loneliness in the countryside and eventually begins to doubt that his love would be faithful. The fourth movement (March to the Scaffold) gets really weird: our young hero poisons himself with opium and he dreams that he has killed his love and was beheaded for it. The fifth movement (The Witch's Sabbath) takes place at his funeral, where witches and sorcerers converge and rejoice. His love also makes an appearance, but is changed. She mocks him and dances with the witches.

The most impressive part of this work is the development of the fixed idea, which is the young lady's them, that recurs in each movement, tying the work together. This was an early version of Wagner's leitmotif. Each time the theme returns, it's colored by the way the young man feels.

I love this piece so much. The fourth and fifth movements are of course my favorites. I love that you can hear so much of the plot through the music, like the French people's joy at the beheading, the witches mocking the young man and dancing in circles, and the young man's infatuation. If you haven't heard this piece before, I would highly recommend that you give it a try.

By Velvet's request, I have embedded the entire symphony below.

Passions

A Ball

Scene in the Fields

Part 1

Part2

The March to the Scaffold

The Witch's Sabbath

Zombieland: A Heartwarming Zombie Flick

I saw Zombieland last night with my horror movie buddy sister. I had pretty high expectations based on the trailers and I wasn't disappointed.

Columbus is kind of a wimp, but successfully survives the zombie apocalypse because of his extensive list of do's and don'ts. He hitches a ride with Tallahassee, a Twinkie-obsessed, gun-toting tough guy, and his life takes a wild turn. On their adventure they encounter Wichita and Little Rock, two cunning and manipulative sisters. This rag-tag team of survivors may become a zombie-fighting family, if they don't kill each other first.

Zombieland was a blast. From the very first scene, the film just took off. I loved when the rules would just appear on the screen whenever they were followed or ignored. It was so hilarious in places, I couldn't stop laughing. The big cameo that takes place in Hollywood is priceless. I would say this film is in the same category as Shaun of the Dead (which is the film that inspired it).

The zombies were a product of a rage virus, so they did move pretty fast. This makes sense, since they are alive and not dead. The speed actually made the film a bit more thrilling. It wasn't really scary, but it was definitely suspenseful and surprising at points. The stripper zombie and the clown zombies were the best

The characters were very real. On the surface, you might think Tallahassee is just a meat-headed jerk, but each and every character had their own motivations and reasons for being the way they are. As the movie progresses, you gradually get to piece together the character's pasts, their inner workings, and the process as they start to trust each other. What really made this film unique was that it was heart warming and optimistic. I know it sounds really weird about a post-apocalyptic zombie movie, but it's true. I think everyone should see this movie!

Audition

This review is in honor of the film version's 10th anniversary. I was happily surprised to see there was an article in the LA Times about it.

Audition by Ryu Murakami is at first a romance. Aoyama, a widower, decides get remarried after many years of being alone and raising his son. His friend comes up with the idea of creating a movie that will probably never be made to host an audition. Then Aoyama can specify what kind of woman he wants and have his choice in that group. It's a bit misogynistic, but sounds like a typical sweet romance set up. Aoyama meets Asami, a former ballerina with a melancholy air about her. They go on a few dates and then she disappears. This is also when the novel descends into madness.

I love Takashi Miike's film adaptation of Audition, so I was really excited when I found out it was finally translated into English. I thought it was interesting that the book excelled where the movie failed and vice versa. In the first fifteen pages in the book, the reader knows more about Aoyama and his family than in the entire movie. Giving Aoyama a realistic background endeared him to me and made me forgive his shortcomings more than in the film. The courtship between Asami and Aoyama was much more interesting and believable in the novel. There were many more dates than in the film and it involved more normal conversation, plus Aoyama fussing about what to do like a teenage boy. The first three quarters of the film were extremely boring, but provided a great contrast to the last quarter of the film. The only thing I'm going to say about the ending of the story is that the film was much better and much more effective. I wish I could combine the good parts of both versions of the story.

Overall, the book was very good. The crazy ending seems pretty out of the blue and abrupt, unlike the film, which has more of a lead into it. I loved the fleshing out of all the characters into people I can relate to and care about. I would especially recommend this book to fans of the film.

4/5

Trick 'r Treat

Here is the synopsis from IMDB.com: Five interwoven stories that occur on the same block, on the same night. A couple finds what happens when they blow a jack o' lantern out before midnight, a high school principal has a secret life as a serial killer, a college virgin might have met the right guy for her, a group of mean teens play a prank that they take too far, and a hermit is visited by a special trick or treater.

Chances are you have never heard of this film. It was supposed to come out in 2007, but for some reason was shelved until now. It has never had a theatrical release, but has been touring at various horror film festivals. I heard about it last year at LA's Screamfest, but wasn't able to see it there. I think i's very sad that Saw VI and the remake of The Nightmare on Elm Street get wide releases, but this gem of a movie does not.

I have been waiting a full year to see and I have to say that I am not disappointed at all. This movie is one of the most unique horror movies that has come out recently. It goes back to the Tales from the Crypt or Creepshow format of film, except that the stories are interwoven throughout the film. The story goes back and forwards in time and some characters are seen in more than one story. This sounds like it could get confusing, but it really does not. Based on horror conventions, I thought I knew where each story was going to go, but I was totally wrong. This movie has unpredictable twists and turns. It's funny, as well as creepy and scary. The acting is great; the special effects, sets, and mood are awesome for fairly low budget movies.

My favorite character of the entire film is Sam. He is like the spirit of Halloween. The writer and director, Michael Dougherty, describes him as a twisted version of Charlie Brown's Great Pumpkin. Sam goes around and enforces the rules of Halloween in interesting ways, like always check your candy and never blow out a jack-o-lantern before midnight.

This film is out on DVD today, so if you're interested I invite you to buy or rent it. It's the perfect movie for Halloween!

10/10

Evil at Heart: A Fast Paced, Gory Thriller

Evil at Heart is the third book in the thrilling Gretchen Lowell series. With the escape of Gretchen (from the previous book Sweetheart), the media is going crazy. There are Beauty Killer tour buses; people wear “Run, Gretchen” t-shirts; Gretchen’s face graces the cover of practically every periodical. Archie Sheridan is relaxing in the psych ward of Providence Medical Center, finally kicking his Vicodin addiction and getting help for the years of emotional and mental torture Gretchen inflicted on him. Meanwhile, eyeballs and a spleen are found at a rest stop bathroom. Then other body parts are found at former Beauty Killer crime scenes, prompting police to assume that Gretchen is back or that there’s a copycat killer on the loose. Can Archie be convinced to leave the psych ward and pursue the killer?

At the forefront of this novel is the influence of the media. Every news channel, magazine, and newspaper is running stories about Gretchen Lowell. Because of the extensive media coverage, people are seeing her as a celebrity: someone to look up to or admire. I think the media in reality is very guilty of doing this. The constant coverage of dubious figures creates interest in them and a fan base. In the novel, there are fan clubs and “I Heart Gretchen Lowell” sites, as well as a Beauty Killer manicure and look-a-like contests. I was shocked that people were going to crazy about her. Gretchen Lowell becomes part of everyone’s life because she’s everywhere, whether they like it or not. I never thought about this in the course of the first two novels, but it really makes sense. This is the aspect of the book that I found the most interesting.

Needless to say, I love this series. An insane and calculated mind like Gretchen’s really can’t be found in any other novel. Every time I try to guess what will come next, I am horribly wrong and surprised. The plot twists and turns and goes places I never expect. I love that the steampunk subculture plays a small role in this book, as well as a back suspension scene that could have been taken right out of Takashi Miike’s film Ichi the Killer. This book is a fast paced read with surprises around every corner. If you are in any way squeamish, you should probably skip this series. For the rest of us, I can’t wait to see what comes next for Archie and Gretchen.

4/5

Contagious Review

Contagious picks up shortly after Infected ended. Perry Dawsey, the only survivor of the triangle parasites, joins a government team to find and contain other people affected by these parasites. Unfortunately for his group mates, Perry is only interested in killing the affected. The government has to find the triangles constructs, destroy them, and try to get living ones to dissect without the public knowing about it and trying to prevent Perry from killing all of them. This novel is a great fast paced thriller that holds on to you and doesn’t let go.

This book features a variety of very detailed characters, including the crazy Scary Perry Dawsey, the struggling new President of the United States, and two of his rivaling aids. None of them is entirely good or evil and have their own motivations and drives. You feel for each character, no matter how annoying or psychotic they might be.

There are a couple of great additions to Contagious that did not appear in Infected. The government plays a much larger role. There is an added political angle within the president. He has to negotiate between his ideals and how to deal with the very real situation he was unwittingly thrown into. How much does he tell the American people? Are Americans citizens expendable to stop a hostile alien invasion? Another great addition to the story is the alien perspective. The alien's motives are pretty clear with this, as well as their frustration with the humans (especially Perry).

Contagious is an excellent sequel to Infected. It takes the story and its characters to the next frightening level. I highly recommend this novel.

5/5

Bliss Review

Bliss in the Morning Dew goes from living in a commune with her hippie parents to living in regular society with her uptight grandmother in the late 1960's. She doesn't know anything about typical society or who to trust in it. She meets Sarah Lynn, the aloof popular girl that everyone falls all over themselves for, and Sandy, a kind hearted outcast. Which one experiments on cats and is obsessed with the occult? Who should she trust? In addition to her social problems, the ghost of a girl who committed suicide keeps trying to lure her to a creepy room at her school.

The plot of the story is framed by quotes from the Manson murder trials and the Andy Griffith show. This may initially sound odd, but the quotes really capture the mood or theme of the chapter to follow. The juxtaposition of sociopathic murderers and the idealized society is very effective. The Manson murder trial quotes represent the mentality of the mysterious villain in the book. It's disturbing that people in reality can commit such atrocities and have the attitude that the Manson family did. On the other hand, the Andy Griffith quotes reveal Bliss's only reference for normal society and what to strive for.

I really liked the view of society that was used. Even though this is a young adult book, the racism of the time isn't sugar coated at all. I was genuinely shocked when young girls started spewing racial slurs and stereotypes like it was acceptable. Bliss has the same reaction because she hasn't been a part of “normal” society. There is an immediate kinship felt with Bliss.

Overall, the book was compelling. The creepy journal entries with the plot and the different quotes made a very interesting form. This book is a good introduction in to the horror genre. It isn't too scary or intense, but still holds one's attention. The main characters were multi-dimensional and believable, while some of the minor ones didn't evolve during the story at all. My big problem with the book was that I was incredibly unsatisfied with the ending.

3/5

Infected

Infected is a complex and enjoyable novel. A devastating disease has infected only a few people so far. The infected become psychotic and paranoid, causing them to mutilate themselves and murder indiscriminately. The narrative follows Margaret Montoya and her team of doctors and CIA agents as they scramble to find living infected subjects to learn more about the disease and eventually cure it. The novel also follows Perry Dawsey from the initial infection to his descent into madness. The duality of the healer and the infected, the insane and the sane, really showcases Scott Sigler's ability to write unique and interesting characters.

This book will make you laugh and it will make you cringe with disgust. This book made me forget that I needed to eat or sleep until it was finished. The explanations and scientific observations of the disease from the spore stage to the mature stage are astonishingly detailed and believable. When reading this novel, I couldn't help but think of World War Z, with the unique character voices, or the film The Signal, with its unique look at insanity. I'm curious to see how widespread the disease will get in the next novel in the series (Contagious) and how society will handle it.

5/5

Severance: Morbidly Poetic

“After decapitation, the human head is believed to remain in a state of consciousness for one and one half minutes.”

“In a heightened state of emotion, people speak at the rate of 160 words per minute.”

Using these two concepts, Butler writes a short story for each decapitated victim using only 240 words. Little to no punctuation was used, which made it slightly uncomfortable for me to read. The language, however, is very descriptive and poetic.

I was impressed at the cast of characters, fictional and factual, that Butler chose to write about. These characters included a dragon, Marie Antoinette, Medusa, a chicken, and even the author himself. Some of the characters were beheaded by accident, like John Martin, a boy who was “decapitated by subway after lifting sidewalk grate and falling onto the tracks below.” Others were beheaded as punishment, most notably from the French Revolution. Each of these mini-narratives had an individual voice, unique to each character. Just by the language, you could tell what their education was, their place in history, and their culture.

My favorite passage was that narrative of Pierre-François Lacenaire, “criminal and memoirist, guillotined for murder, 1836.” He described the guillotine as his fiancée, very eloquently. “…all her thin body is rouged for me, all but her bosom which is naked and unadorned, polished bright…” This unlikely juxtaposition was the most poetic and descriptive of all the stories.

Overall, this compilation of short stories was well written and strangely compelling. It was a very short, yet enjoyable read that I would recommend to anyone with a morbid streak.

4/5

Sucks to Be Me: The All-True Confessions of Mina Hamilton, Teen Vampire (maybe)

Sucks to be Me is the delightful narrative of Mina Hamilton, a snarky teen with a big decision to make: whether or not to join the ranks of the secretive vampires. She has to deal with a lot of issues, both normal and supernatural, including boy problems, vampire school, regular school, and prom! Imagine, having to make a life changing decision in a month with only your parents, your eccentric Uncle Mortie, and Grandma Wolfington (AKA Ms. Riley, vampire teacher) for guidance.

Mina is the definitive teenager, complete with gross outs and swoons over boys. She is instantly likeable from page one, with her insightful and funny outlook on life. She alludes to pop culture vampire lore like the Stephenie Meyer novels and Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles throughout the novel. Also, Mina’s English class reads Dracula in the course of the novel, and she is outraged at how vampires and even women are portrayed in the novel. (I personally totally agree with her and think it’s a completely overrated novel.) The vampires are shrouded in secrecy, but are pretty normal underneath it all. Kimberly Pauley really reinvents vampire legend in a unique and fun way, not caving in to typical expectations.

Despite the comedic elements of the novel, there are some real issues underneath. When someone makes any decision in their lives, they need to make it for themselves, not their boyfriend or parents or their peers. This can translate to anyone, anywhere, in any situation. The novel also illustrates the importance of family: not just blood relatives, but the people that are most important to us in our lives.

This novel was cute, light, and funny mixed with a dash of seriousness and angst. I hope this is the first in a series.

4/5

Vampires that Terrify: The Strain

The Strain is a story of terrifying vampires threatening to overtake the world. With all the influx of vampire romance stories, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Twilight, the romanticized, sexy version of vampires has risen into popularity. This novel brings back the inhuman, frightening vampires, whose only interest in the human body is for food and transmitting the virus. Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan created a wonderful novel to strike fear in our hearts and make us, once again, fear vampires.

The characters are extremely diverse, from an aged Holocaust survivor and a CDC employee to a young Mexican gangster and a vapid socialite. This not only shows the talent of the writers in creating believable and different characters, but the diversity of New York and the magnitude of the vampire disease. The descriptions made me immerse more into the story. It made the pacing slow a bit, but the trade off is worth it. It made me feel as if I were watching a movie instead of reading a book.

As I mentioned before, the vampirism was caused by a disease that completely changes or destroys the structures in the human body. It is so refreshing to finally see a different take on vampires, away from the dark, brooding, romanticism of recent series. The CDC characters and the details of what was happening internally were similar to Scott Sigler's Infected and Richard Preston's The Cobra Event, which are some of my favorite books. If you like books about diseases, I highly recommend this book. I can't wait for the next installment!

I had the wonderful opportunity to meet Guillermo del Toro at the Meltdown Comics for the launch of this book. I told him I greatly enjoyed his book and he told me to tell the world, so I am happy to say that I have done so.

5/5